President Barack Obama says the latest US unemployment figures show the worst of the economic crisis may be over.

He made his upbeat remarks during an appearance in the White House Rose Garden – after news that the jobless rate in America had fallen for the first time in 15 months. “Last week we received a report on America’s gross domestic product, a key measure of our economic health, and it showed a marked improvement over the last few months. This morning we received additional signs that the worst may be behind us,” Obama told reporters. In July, employers cut far fewer jobs than expected, providing the clearest indicator yet that the economy is turning round. Employers shed 247,000 jobs in July according to government figures, the least in any one month since last August, taking the unemployment rate to 9.4 percent, down from 9.5 per cent in June. Recent data ranging from house sales to manufacturing have pointed to an economy starting to dig itself out of one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The fall in the jobless rate is good news for Barack Obama who has seen his standing in public opinion polls slip as Americans fret over a weak economy high unemployment and his handling of the healthcare issue.More about: Barack Obama, Unemployment, USA

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